United States v. Williams’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

3 district ·

Most-quoted passages

The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 3 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““As contended on behalf of the defendant, there can he no constructive offenses, and, before a man. can be punished, his case must be plainly and unmista kably within the statute. But, though penal laws are to be construed .strictly, yet the intention of the Legislature must govern in the construction of penal as well as other statutes, and they are not to be construed so strictly as to defeat the obvious Intention of the Legislature.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. United States v. Hocking Valley Ry. Co.

2. ““That, while it is true that before a case can be held to fall within a penal statute the ease must come within the letter and spirit of the statute, yet, if it comes within the spirit and also within one reasonable interpretation of the letter of the statute, it is sufficient, although there may be a literal construction that might be put upon the statute which would not include the case.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. United States v. Hocking Valley Ry. Co.